There is a strange between the show Maude and Good Times - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TVFactFan · 10-12-2002, 09:11 PM

I found out that the Florida character was Maude's maid and her husband Henry-later james-got a job and Florida no longer had to work for Maude. Well if if that's the case, then why was the Evans struggling the very first episode of Good times-"Too old Blues" when james was turned down for a job because of his age. Also why was John Amos character on Maude name changed from Henry to James and Esther Rolle's character name stayed the same? After saying all of this i now realized one thing, GOOD TIMES is not a spinoff from Maude.

boechsner · 10-12-2002, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SOLOMON
I found out that the Florida character was Maude's maid and her husband Henry-later james-got a job and Florida no longer had to work for Maude. Well if if that's the case, then why was the Evans struggling the very first episode of Good times-"Too old Blues" when james was turned down for a job because of his age. Also why was John Amos character on Maude name changed from Henry to James and Esther Rolle's character name stayed the same? After saying all of this i now realized one thing, GOOD TIMES is not a spinoff from Maude.

Of course it's a spin-off of Maude, don't be ridiculous. A spin-off is taking a character from one series and creating a series around that character.

TVFactFan · 10-12-2002, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by boechsner

Of course it's a spin-off of Maude, don't be ridiculous. A spin-off is taking a character from one series and creating a series around that character.

Well the transition was poor-it made no sense-they were supposed to be on their way up the ladder and was struggling the 1st episode of goodtmes-And John Amos having a different name on Good times-it was more like a crossover to me

ThomasE · 10-15-2002, 01:03 AM

Solomon, it was a spinoff. Just because they make a few adjustments does not make it a cross over and not a spinoff. On Maude, both Florida and James Henry had the last name was "evans" She was still the same person and so was James Henry, only a little more rougher. On Maude, she had three kids, on Good Times, she has three kids. A spinoff is when an idea or character from one thing or show is brought on to something else and continues on. When Good times was brought into the works, the producers made some adjustments. I wish the producers family would have let them stay in Harlem, NYC that way, there would have been no gap. Also, their living in NYC would have kept the family tree consistent location wise:

Bunkers-NYC(Queens)
Jeffersons-NYC(Queens/Manhattan)
Findlays-Tuckahoe(20 mins from NYC)
Evans-NYC-Then Chicago

TVFactFan · 10-15-2002, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ThomasE
Solomon, it was a spinoff. Just because they make a few adjustments does not make it a cross over and not a spinoff. On Maude, both Florida and James Henry had the last name was "evans" She was still the same person and so was James Henry, only a little more rougher. On Maude, she had three kids, on Good Times, she has three kids. A spinoff is when an idea or character from one thing or show is brought on to something else and continues on. When Good times was brought into the works, the producers made some adjustments. I wish the producers family would have let them stay in Harlem, NYC that way, there would have been no gap. Also, their living in NYC would have kept the family tree consistent location wise:

Bunkers-NYC(Queens)
Jeffersons-NYC(Queens/Manhattan)
Findlays-Tuckahoe(20 mins from NYC)
Evans-NYC-Then Chicago

Well i wasn't a big maude fan but I did find out that Florida left Maude because her husband got a better job. So if I was born in Feb of 1974 and saw Florida Evans leave Maude because ofher husband getting another job and then the Following week on the First episode of Good Times-"Too Old Blues" where James is trying to get a job and turned down because of age-I really would have been confused about the transition. I would have been saying to myself-"I thought James had a job and lived in the state of New York-How did they end up in Chicago??

Brian Damage · 10-15-2002, 01:23 PM

What's the difference? The fact is you were 100% wrong in stating that Good Times was a crossover and not a spinoff.

TVFactFan · 10-15-2002, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by briandamage
What's the difference? The fact is you were 100% wrong in stating that Good Times was a crossover and not a spinoff.

Well someone I know who was 22 at the time when Good times startedsaid she never considered GT a spinoff from Maude. I have to ask her why but i'm sure she has her reasons.

Brian Damage · 10-15-2002, 04:29 PM

She is sorely mistaken.

TVFactFan · 10-15-2002, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by briandamage
She is sorely mistaken.

My defintion of a spinoff is when the character who is about to have their own show do a pilot episode on the parent show or have the main characters from the parent show as guest appearances on the spinoff. Spinoffs that this happen on were The Ropers, Checking In, The Jeffersons, Maude, Laverne and Shirley, and Mork and Mindy. Shows where that didn't happen were Perfect Strangers, and GOOD TIMES!
So i will never call Good Times a spinoff of Maude. I just don;t know what to call it.

Brian Damage · 10-15-2002, 06:06 PM

Call it a spinoff because that's what it was.

ThomasE · 10-15-2002, 11:50 PM

Two characters fom one show left that show to do their own show. Spinoff. Change of location has nothing to do with it. CBS calls it a spinoff. Ms. Esther Rolle called it a spinoff. That's what it is.

boechsner · 10-16-2002, 01:00 AM

I don't even understand why this is an issue, it's so clean cut, either it is or it isn't and without a doubt it is a spinoff.

Day by Day could be considered a crossover, and saying that one would never call Good Times a crossover.

jerry allen · 10-16-2002, 06:47 AM

let me get into this fray. Esther Rolle's portrayal of Florida Evans on "Maude" and John Amos' role as her husband are the only things that "Good Times" needs to merit it a spin-off because Esther and John are playing the same people. On "Good Times" the producers and writers felt it would be better and more original to get Florida far away from "Maude" so they wouldn't fall into the trap so many spin-offs do and rely on the parent series to the extent of becoming a clone. this is why "Frasier is way up in Seattle but "Cheers" was in Boston and "Knots Landing" was in California and "Dallas" was in Texas. when you have a spin-off far away from the "parent", it'll kill any temptations for cross-overs because a spin-off is one of the hardest to sell because many can't find their own style and get axed because they lack originality or are too identical to the parent show. John Amos playing Henry on "Maude" but James on "Good Times" is no big deal. i guess his stage name was James Henry Evans? his name could've been Frank and it still not matter because it's Esther Rolle's CHARACTER that was spun-off from "Maude". she was the star of "Good Times" until Jimmy Walker took over top-billing.

TVFactFan · 10-16-2002, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jerry allen
let me get into this fray. Esther Rolle's portrayal of Florida Evans on "Maude" and John Amos' role as her husband are the only things that "Good Times" needs to merit it a spin-off because Esther and John are playing the same people. On "Good Times" the producers and writers felt it would be better and more original to get Florida far away from "Maude" so they wouldn't fall into the trap so many spin-offs do and rely on the parent series to the extent of becoming a clone. this is why "Frasier is way up in Seattle but "Cheers" was in Boston and "Knots Landing" was in California and "Dallas" was in Texas. when you have a spin-off far away from the "parent", it'll kill any temptations for cross-overs because a spin-off is one of the hardest to sell because many can't find their own style and get axed because they lack originality or are too identical to the parent show. John Amos playing Henry on "Maude" but James on "Good Times" is no big deal. i guess his stage name was James Henry Evans? his name could've been Frank and it still not matter because it's Esther Rolle's CHARACTER that was spun-off from "Maude". she was the star of "Good Times" until Jimmy Walker took over top-billing.

Well I guess it is a spinoff but the transition still was wacky. Atleast frasier still had the same occupation when he started his own show. Not employed on Cheers and unemployed on Fraiser. And I always liked to see crossovers with the parent show such as Happy days and L&S, and the Cosby Show and Different World. For people who was too young or not around in the 1970's, it would appear as if Good times was a show much like the Cosby Show, a pilot that took off rather than a spinoff. I bet a lot of people who watched Maude and Good Times were kind of confused when they saw the first show of Good times.

W.J. Griffin · 10-27-2002, 02:30 AM

I'll be honest with you, folks, it was cofusing to me when "Good Times" first preimiered in 1974 that, all of a sudden, the family lived in Chicago instead of New York City. Some of the reasons this is so was recounted on the "E! True Hollywood Story" show a few months back...other reasons I can only speculate on...

What I know for sure: When Eric Monte (he would later go on to write "Cooley High", which was adapted for television as "What's Happening?") and Micheal Evans (he had originated the role of Lionel Jefferson on "All In The Family" and ITS spin-off, "The Jeffersons") first presented Norman Lear with the idea for "Good Times", it was a whole different concept from what eventually got on the air. It was Lear's idea to take one of the most popular performers on "Maude", Esther Rolle's "Florida Evans" and build the show around her. So, yes, technically, "Good Times" is indeed a spin-off of "Maude".

As to why the big changes from "Maude's" Tuckahoe, NY, to "Good Time's" Chicago, IL, I can only speculate: evidentaly, the original treatment that Monte and Evans presented was set in Chicago, and the producers probably assumed that no one would notice little details like Henry Evans' name change or the entire Evans family being relocated sone 1500 miles (?) away...and, for the most part, they were correct...after all, those particular details didn't damage the show in any discernable degree, and "Good Times" was actually in tv's top 10 in its first couple of seasons.

A couple of other things you might find of interest about "Good Times" that I've noticed:

1.) The Evans family's name was obviously inspired by series creator Micheal (Indeed, Ralph Carter's character is his namesake), so I suspect that the show may have been somewhat autobiographical;

2.) You will notice in the closing credits for the first few seasons the line about Ralph Carter being "borrowed" from the stage musical "Raisin", which is, of course, the musical adaption of Lorrainne Hansbury's award-winning play "A Raisin In The Sun"...which shares a number of stuctural similarities with "Good Times" itself. Those of you who've seen the movie version with Sidney Potier and Ruby Dee will know what I mean;

3.) This show also exists in a strange turnaround in procedure from what Norman Lear's company usually did in accquiring its shows, i.e. adapting existing Britcoms for American consumption (All In The Family is adapted from "Til Death Us Do Part"; Sanford and Son is adapted from "Steptoe and Son", etc.) With "Good Times" the reverse is true: It was adapted by the BBC as "The Fosters", about an immmigrant Jamaican family living in London.

As I said at the top, a lot of this stuff is just speculation...if anyone has any concrete information to the contrary, I'll gladly retract my statements.

10-12-2002, 09:11 PM	#1
TVFactFan Member Forum Junkie Join Date: Aug 17, 2002 Posts: 98,950	There is a strange between the show Maude and Good Times I found out that the Florida character was Maude's maid and her husband Henry-later james-got a job and Florida no longer had to work for Maude. Well if if that's the case, then why was the Evans struggling the very first episode of Good times-"Too old Blues" when james was turned down for a job because of his age. Also why was John Amos character on Maude name changed from Henry to James and Esther Rolle's character name stayed the same? After saying all of this i now realized one thing, GOOD TIMES is not a spinoff from Maude.

10-15-2002, 01:23 PM	#6
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,108	What's the difference? The fact is you were 100% wrong in stating that Good Times was a crossover and not a spinoff.
	__________________ The Key to the Kingdom of Heaven: John 3:3 *Money Doesn't Buy Happiness...But I'd Rather Cry in My Private Jet*

10-15-2002, 11:50 PM	#11
ThomasE Member Moderator Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 04, 2000 Location: New York, New York, U.S.A. Posts: 10,857	Call it a spinoff Two characters fom one show left that show to do their own show. Spinoff. Change of location has nothing to do with it. CBS calls it a spinoff. Ms. Esther Rolle called it a spinoff. That's what it is.

10-15-2002, 01:03 AM	#4
ThomasE Member Moderator Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 04, 2000 Location: New York, New York, U.S.A. Posts: 10,857	Solomon, it was a spinoff. Just because they make a few adjustments does not make it a cross over and not a spinoff. On Maude, both Florida and James Henry had the last name was "evans" She was still the same person and so was James Henry, only a little more rougher. On Maude, she had three kids, on Good Times, she has three kids. A spinoff is when an idea or character from one thing or show is brought on to something else and continues on. When Good times was brought into the works, the producers made some adjustments. I wish the producers family would have let them stay in Harlem, NYC that way, there would have been no gap. Also, their living in NYC would have kept the family tree consistent location wise: Bunkers-NYC(Queens) Jeffersons-NYC(Queens/Manhattan) Findlays-Tuckahoe(20 mins from NYC) Evans-NYC-Then Chicago

10-15-2002, 04:29 PM	#8
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,108	She is sorely mistaken.

10-15-2002, 06:06 PM	#10
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,108	Call it a spinoff because that's what it was.

10-16-2002, 01:00 AM	#12
boechsner Member Senior Member Join Date: Oct 18, 2000 Location: Green Bay, WI Posts: 2,212	I don't even understand why this is an issue, it's so clean cut, either it is or it isn't and without a doubt it is a spinoff. Day by Day could be considered a crossover, and saying that one would never call Good Times a crossover.

10-16-2002, 06:47 AM	#13
jerry allen Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Oct 01, 2002 Location: State Route 72/ Ohio Posts: 148	let me get into this fray. Esther Rolle's portrayal of Florida Evans on "Maude" and John Amos' role as her husband are the only things that "Good Times" needs to merit it a spin-off because Esther and John are playing the same people. On "Good Times" the producers and writers felt it would be better and more original to get Florida far away from "Maude" so they wouldn't fall into the trap so many spin-offs do and rely on the parent series to the extent of becoming a clone. this is why "Frasier is way up in Seattle but "Cheers" was in Boston and "Knots Landing" was in California and "Dallas" was in Texas. when you have a spin-off far away from the "parent", it'll kill any temptations for cross-overs because a spin-off is one of the hardest to sell because many can't find their own style and get axed because they lack originality or are too identical to the parent show. John Amos playing Henry on "Maude" but James on "Good Times" is no big deal. i guess his stage name was James Henry Evans? his name could've been Frank and it still not matter because it's Esther Rolle's CHARACTER that was spun-off from "Maude". she was the star of "Good Times" until Jimmy Walker took over top-billing.

10-27-2002, 02:30 AM	#15
W.J. Griffin Member Forum Regular Join Date: Aug 29, 2002 Posts: 527	I'll be honest with you, folks, it was cofusing to me when "Good Times" first preimiered in 1974 that, all of a sudden, the family lived in Chicago instead of New York City. Some of the reasons this is so was recounted on the "E! True Hollywood Story" show a few months back...other reasons I can only speculate on... What I know for sure: When Eric Monte (he would later go on to write "Cooley High", which was adapted for television as "What's Happening?") and Micheal Evans (he had originated the role of Lionel Jefferson on "All In The Family" and ITS spin-off, "The Jeffersons") first presented Norman Lear with the idea for "Good Times", it was a whole different concept from what eventually got on the air. It was Lear's idea to take one of the most popular performers on "Maude", Esther Rolle's "Florida Evans" and build the show around her. So, yes, technically, "Good Times" is indeed a spin-off of "Maude". As to why the big changes from "Maude's" Tuckahoe, NY, to "Good Time's" Chicago, IL, I can only speculate: evidentaly, the original treatment that Monte and Evans presented was set in Chicago, and the producers probably assumed that no one would notice little details like Henry Evans' name change or the entire Evans family being relocated sone 1500 miles (?) away...and, for the most part, they were correct...after all, those particular details didn't damage the show in any discernable degree, and "Good Times" was actually in tv's top 10 in its first couple of seasons. A couple of other things you might find of interest about "Good Times" that I've noticed: 1.) The Evans family's name was obviously inspired by series creator Micheal (Indeed, Ralph Carter's character is his namesake), so I suspect that the show may have been somewhat autobiographical; 2.) You will notice in the closing credits for the first few seasons the line about Ralph Carter being "borrowed" from the stage musical "Raisin", which is, of course, the musical adaption of Lorrainne Hansbury's award-winning play "A Raisin In The Sun"...which shares a number of stuctural similarities with "Good Times" itself. Those of you who've seen the movie version with Sidney Potier and Ruby Dee will know what I mean; 3.) This show also exists in a strange turnaround in procedure from what Norman Lear's company usually did in accquiring its shows, i.e. adapting existing Britcoms for American consumption (All In The Family is adapted from "Til Death Us Do Part"; Sanford and Son is adapted from "Steptoe and Son", etc.) With "Good Times" the reverse is true: It was adapted by the BBC as "The Fosters", about an immmigrant Jamaican family living in London. As I said at the top, a lot of this stuff is just speculation...if anyone has any concrete information to the contrary, I'll gladly retract my statements.